Thematic Bible: Tribulation


Thematic Bible





"To the minister of the Church at Thyateira write as follows: "'This is what the Son of God says--He who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet resembling silver-bronze. I know your doings, your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance; and that of late you have toiled harder than you did at first. Yet I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and by her teaching leads astray My servants, so that they commit fornication and eat what has been sacrificed to idols. read more.
I have given her time to repent, but she is determined not to repent of her fornication. I tell you that I am about to cast her upon a bed of sickness, and I will severely afflict those who commit adultery with her, unless they repent of conduct such as hers.

coming upon the soul of every man and woman who deliberately does wrong--upon the Jew first, and then upon the Gentile; Verse ConceptsFavouritismevil, warnings againstGod, Impartiality OfMiseryTo The Jew FirstThe Gospel To Jew And GentileGod TroublingGreat White Throne JudgmentFamily ProblemsPurgatory

Jesus had left the Temple and was going on His way, when His disciples came and called His attention to the Temple buildings. "You see all these?" He replied; "in solemn truth I tell you that there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be pulled down." Afterwards He was on the Mount of Olives and was seated there when the disciples came to Him, apart from the others, and said, "Tell us when this will be; and what will be the sign of your Coming and of the Close of the Age?" read more.
"Take care that no one misleads you," answered Jesus; "for many will come assuming my name and saying 'I am the Christ;' and they will mislead many. And before long you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. Do not be alarmed, for such things must be; but the End is not yet. For nation will rise in arms against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places; but all these miseries are but like the early pains of childbirth. "At that time they will deliver you up to punishment and will put you to death; and you will be objects of hatred to all the nations because you are called by my name. Then will many stumble and fall, and they will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will rise up and lead multitudes astray; and because of the prevalent disregard of God's law the love of the great majority will grow cold; but those who stand firm to the End shall be saved. And this Good News of the Kingdom shall be proclaimed throughout the whole world to set the evidence before all the Gentiles; and then the End will come. "When you have seen (to use the language of the Prophet Daniel) "then let those who are in Judaea escape to the hills; let him who is on the roof not go down to fetch what is in his house; nor let him who is outside the city stay to pick up his outer garment. And alas for the women who at that time are with child or have infants! "But pray that your flight may not be in winter, nor on the Sabbath; for it will be a time of great suffering, such as never has been from the beginning of the world till now, and assuredly never will be again. And if those days had not been cut short, no one would escape; but for the sake of God's own People those days will be cut short.

As He was leaving the Temple, one of His disciples exclaimed, "Look, Rabbi, what wonderful stones! what wonderful buildings!" "You see all these great buildings?" Jesus replied; "not one stone will be left here upon another--not thrown down." He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite to the Temple, when Peter, James, John, and Andrew, apart from the others asked Him, read more.
"Tell us, When will these things be? and what will be the sign when all these predictions are on the point of being fulfilled?" So Jesus began to say to them: "Take care that no one misleads you. Many will come assuming my name and saying, 'I am He;' and they will mislead many. But when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed: come they must, but the End is not yet. For nation will rise in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These miseries are but like the early pains of childbirth. "You yourselves must be on your guard. They will deliver you up to Sanhedrins; you will be brought into synagogues and cruelly beaten; and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to be witnesses to them for me. But the proclamation of the Good News must be carried to all the Gentiles before the End comes. When however they are marching you along under arrest, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say, but speak what is given you when the time comes; for it will not be you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. "Brother will betray brother to be killed, and fathers will betray children; and children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be objects of universal hatred because you are called by my name, but those who stand firm to the End will be saved. "As soon, however, as you see the Abomination of Desolation standing where he ought not" --let the reader observe these words--"then let those in Judaea escape to the hills; let him who is on the roof not come down and enter the house to fetch anything out of it; and let not him who is in the field turn back to pick up his outer garment. And alas for the women who at that time are with child or have infants! "But pray that it may not come in the winter. For those will be times of suffering the like of which has never been from the first creation of God's world until now, and assuredly never will be again; and but for the fact that the Lord has cut short those days, no one would escape; but for the sake of His own People whom He has chosen for Himself He has cut short the days.

After this I looked, and a vast host appeared which it was impossible for anyone to count, gathered out of every nation and from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in long white robes, and carrying palm-branches in their hands. In loud voices they were exclaiming, "It is to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, that we owe our salvation!" All the angels were standing in a circle round the throne and round the Elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces in front of the throne and worshipped God. read more.
"Even so!" they cried: "The blessing and the glory and the wisdom and the thanks and the honor and the power and the might are to be ascribed to our God, until the Ages of the Ages! Even so!" Then, addressing me, one of the Elders said, "Who are these people clothed in the long white robes? And where have they come from?" "My lord, you know," I replied. "They are those," he said, "who have just passed through the great distress, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they stand before the very throne of God, and render Him service, day after day and night after night, in His sanctuary, and He who is sitting upon the throne will shelter them in His tent. They will never again be hungry or thirsty, and never again will the sun or any scorching heat trouble them. For the Lamb who is in front of the throne will be their Shepherd, and will guide them to watersprings of Life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

"Do you at last believe?" replied Jesus. "Remember that the time is coming, nay, has already come, for you all to be dispersed each to his own home and to leave me alone. And yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. "I have spoken all this to you in order that in me you may have peace. In the world you have affliction. But keep up your courage: *I* have won the victory over the world."

And not only so: we also exult in our sufferings, knowing as we do, that suffering produces fortitude; fortitude, ripeness of character; and ripeness of character, hope;